Rotary Club of Norwich
February 24th, 2021
Location-ZOOM Meeting
THE RONE
Presiding: President Mary Richardson
Invocation: Gary Young filled in for Rodney and gave a superb invocation as always!
Fellowship: Ray Baribeault
Birthdays: Mary Richardson on March 1st & Matt Cooney on 2/25 (8 years old)
Anniversaries: John Mancini – 3 years
Visiting Rotarians: None
Guests: Guest speaker Jodi Savage, Project Outreach Coordinator from NFA
Ray started fellowship with a joke from his “Joke of the Day” calendar! “A set of Jumper Cables walked into a bar and the bartender said; ‘Hey, don’t you start anything!” After receiving an assortment of groans and chuckles, Ray proceeded with a history lesson of events in history that took place on February 24th! Just a few Ray featured were on this date in 1968 the Tet Offensive started during the Vietnam War. In 1868 President Andrew Johnson was impeached by Congress. In 1836 the battle at the Alamo in San Antonio took place. Sam Houston, Davy Crockett and Colonel Travis were killed in battle. In 1945 the American flag was raised at Iwo Jima on Mt. Suribachi.
Announcements:
*Mary Richardson read a couple of thank you notes. One from Rotarian Jay Waitte on the clubs donation to St. Patrick’s in memory of his wife Kate. Also, a thank you note from the Haitian Health Foundation for the club’s recent donation to that organization.
*President Mary is still looking for a Membership Chairman.
*The District PETS conference is coming up in March and Mary is looking for volunteers to take part as there is currently no President-Elect.
*Upcoming programs – on 3/3 the speaker will be Christine Foster from Safe Futures. *There will be a Service Person of the Month program on March 19th for both last year’s recipient and this year’s recipient too.
*If you know of anyone who would be a good speaker at one of our Rotary Meetings contact Bob Farwell or Kevin Wickless. Speakers can be done virtual (ZOOM) as well if needed.
*Mary informed the club to stay tuned as with the Governor’s relaxing the restrictions of how people can gather during the pandemic in March we may be able to meet in person once again at the Marriott as well a keeping the Zoom option going as well for members who still feel uncomfortable meeting in person.
*President Mary suggested members take up Susy Hurlbert’s challenge and invite guests to our meeting even though we a Zooming the meetings. We should still invite guests.
Happy Dollars: Jen Granger:
*Jen started things off wishing President Mary Richardson a happy birthday! She was also happy to have spent some time outdoors recently ice skating and enjoying a nice outdoor fire as well.
*Barry Shead was happy his daughter was visiting from the west coast even though she was here to attend a funeral. Barry also had Happy Dollars to welcome Mike Gordon and Jodi Savage to the meeting!
*Bill Champagne reminded everyone that February is Black History Month and the Norwich Historical Society is hosting an online event on the Black Governors of Connecticut. Check out the NHS website for more details. Also, the Norwich Race Equity Committee is hosting some lectures in the coming weeks.
*Gary Young was happy to have received his Covid shot today! He also said that his wife Romer lost a nice $30.00 flashlight in a snowbank last week. With the snow melting he found it packed in ice and it still worked! Gary also had Happy Dollars for the nice feature article the Norwich Bulletin did on Rodney Green and his years running Olde Tymes! He also got a haircut, so he’s no longer in the “Stan Lucas Look-a-Like Society!”
*Mike Gordon was happy to see everyone, even if it’s virtually! He also had Sad Dollars in honor of Bonnie Hong. He and his wife Joan got their Covid Shots! He also said that his 11 year old grandson has been home schooling so far this year. Mike also thought he was probably the second longest member of the club behind Stan Lucas.
*Nancy Gentes had happy birthday wishes for her oldest child who is a very accomplished attorney and has 2 great kids!
*Mike Cooney wished his son Matt a happy birthday and he is a little sore from building his kids a snow sled run like a bobsled track in their yard! He proceeded to show a video of the kids sledding like they were training for the Olympics!
*Andrew Nollman was happy for the warm weather and that his wife Lona and his parents finally got their Covid Shots! He’ll have to wait to get his until the Governor lowers the age as he’s not old enough yet to get his but his wife, who is a nurse, got one already being in the healthcare field.
*Mary Richardson wished Mike Cooney a quick recovery from his muscle aches and reminded him that as a child she too had a snow sled run built for her and that’s how she ended up with a broken arm! She also welcomed Mike Gordon to the meeting. Mary also took park in recent Connecticut Chapter of the Future Farmers of America speaker series on “Women in Farming and Landscaping.” In 2 weeks she will be the featured speaker for that series.
Auction: Joel Etra auctioned off a couple bottles of wine (1 Red and 1 White) that were in his garage and he could not use for the upcoming Passover season as they are not kosher. He also sweetened the deal with a live accordion player (Roz of course) thrown in! After some spirited bidding Mary Richardson was the victor with a $30.00 bid!
Lottery: Zoom lottery took place.
Program: Mary Richardson introduced Jodi Savage, Project Outreach Coordinator from NFA to speak about the Norwich Community Backpack Program. Norwich Free Academy faculty and staff moved quickly and efficiently filling more than 850 backpacks with back-to-school supplies at the Sachem Campus of NFA recently. Volunteers work to find funding to fill the free backpacks that area referring agencies distribute to Norwich school children so they will be better prepared when they go back to school. In addition to the supplies, a COVID-19 kit was included through Liberty Bank and the Norwich Rose Arts Festival Committee. The program is a collaboration of about 10 different agencies. Every year they apply for grants from various banks and organizations to be able to supply about 850 to 900 backpacks for low-income families in Norwich.
President Mary adjourned the meeting at 1:19pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Bob Reed – RONE Reporter